The Burden - Remus Lupin x Reader

The castle is different after dark.

When the torches fade and the portraits sleep, she walks the corridors beside Remus Lupin, Gryffindor prefect, quiet observer, and boy made of secrets.
She's sharp-tongued, proud, and far too clever to be taken in by his soft smile. He's kind, careful, and haunted by something he can't control.
Night after night, their patrols turn from duty into something more fragile, something dangerous.
Because every secret is a burden, and the heaviest ones are never carried alone.

In the quiet hours before dawn, they'll both learn what it costs to care for someone who was never meant to be saved.

- Marauders era